Film Festival News and Reviews: Sundance, Cannes and more

The Toronto International Film Festival is so big -- with a roster of nearly 350 movies -- that multiple films are in the spotlight on opening night. While the fest officially opened with a gala screening and a pair of parties for Jeremy Podeswa's "Fugitive Pieces," across town Martin Gero's "Young People Fucking" was one of the many films also showcased on the first day of TIFF. It was subsequently celebrated with a fitting late-night bash at a new Toronto swingers club. And, fresh from considerable buzz in Telluride over the weekend, Baltasar Kormakur's "Jar City" debuted in Toronto hours before IFC Entertainment confirmed a North American ...

Formed four years ago, HDNet Films has either reached the end of the road or hit a major intersection. Producers Jason Kliot and Joana Vicente will be leaving the digital production company that was formed by Mark Cuban as the unit marks four years of digital filmmaking. The move is stirring buzz just as the company's latest production, Brian DePalma's "Redacted," makes waves internationally this week after screenings in Venice, Telluride and now at the Toronto International Film Festival. Countering industry speculation that he has "pulled the plug" on the HDNet Films brand, Mark Cuban acknowledged the shift on Thursday saying that producti...

Industry Initatives at the Toronto International Film Festival and the Canadian Film and Television Production Association announced that Niv Fichman is the recipient of the second annual CFTPA Producer's Award with a $10,000 CAD cash prize. Fichman has produced over 200 documenataries, television s...

Throughout the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival, indieWIRE will be publishing interviews with filmmakers in the Discovery section of the festival, which TIFF describes as a showcase for new and emerging filmmakers from contemporary international cinema.

Tens of thousands of people will converge upon Canada's largest city over the next ten days or so for one of the world's largest film events, socializing and networking all over town. indieWIRE surveyed a group of Toronto locals and insiders about their favorites places to eat, drink, shop and chill, including some of our own tips from indieWIRE staffer (and former Torontonian) Peter Knegt. The results of our informal, subjective survey follow. We invite readers and TIFF attendees alike to discuss, dispute and react to the suggestions offered. Comments and corrections are invited at the end of this article, so go for it. We'll take another lo...

Brooks Barton Addicott has been named Associate Director, Media Relations for the Sundance Film Festival, the Sundance Institute announced Tuesday. Addicott will "develop and implement year-round stragegic media relations for the festival, its initiatives, filmmakers sponsors and its online and video content. Based in Park City, UT, she will also serve as the main point of contact both internally and outside the organization for all press activities related to the Sundance Film Festival and related projects. She replaces Patrick Hubley who worked at Sundance for the past five years who gone on to pursue other projects of his own, according to...

Looking ahead to its next edition in March, the South by Southwest Film Conference & Festival (SXSW) have confirmed Moby and documentary filmmaker Stanley Nelson to its slate of speakers, the fest announced over the weekend. Moby will participate in a session entitled "A Conversation with Moby," hosted and moderated by Doreen Ringer-Ross of BMI. The session, scheduled for Tuesday, March 11, will take a look at the musician's relationship with cinema including a look at "moby gratis," the musician's new endeavor to offer some of his music, free-of-charge, to independent filmmakers. Nelson filmmaker ("Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Te...

In announcing the new name for its home and headquarters as Bell Lightbox, the Toronto International Film Festival Group (TIFFG) said Monday that it has raised a total of $137 million towards the $196 million campaign to fund the new building, an endowment and ongoing operating money. TIFFG said Mon...

Given the signals preceding next month's bellwether Toronto International Film Festival, party planners might want pick to up some black crepe to go with those red carpets in the movie awards season to come. A list of 20 gala presentations--announced Wednesday at a Toronto news conference introducin...

Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder will perform at the world premiere of the documentary "Body of War" at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 11. "Body of War," directed by talk show legend Phil Donahue and Ellen Spiro, chronicles the travails of Tomas Young, who was paralyzed by a bul...